The halls of this grand academy are, to put it kindly, in desperate need of attention. Sunlight pours in through holes and cracks in the ceiling, and the weeds that have broken up through the floorboards gladly accept the warmth. Woodland animals have taken up residence in some of the darker corners and have been spotted attending classes from time to time. It’s like the headmaster said at inauguration, “It’s a miracle this building hasn’t collapsed in on itself by now, and if that isn’t a sign from the Goddesses, then I don’t know what is.”

It’s fun to walk through the corridors, but since I was let out for an early lunch, I may as well go eat. Admittedly, the building has its charms, but I’d much rather eat in the courtyard. It’s maintained by the second-year students and as a result, has become the unofficial new cafeteria ever since the official one failed the yearly health inspection. 

The normal entrance to the courtyard is at the back of the main building. If I were willing to crawl and wiggle, there are a few holes and cracks in the walls that would also get me there, but the last time I tried that, my skirt got torn. 

Above the back entrance hangs my favorite part of the entire academy: a portrait of one of the four Goddesses, Mysria, the earth Goddess. Or at least it’s supposed to be in her likeness. It’s been a very long time since anyone has seen her, so I’ve always wondered if the picture is accurate. Some people would label me a heretic for saying that, so I’ve never had the courage to ask.

Even if she did turn out to look different, the woman in the portrait is everything I wish to be. Unfortunately, we couldn’t be any less similar. Her flowing dark hair is contrasted by my short locks, silver like the second moon and proof that the Krehn blood flows through my veins. Amber eyes that rival jewels combine with thin lips pressed into a smile to create the calm, kind look that Mysria is known for. If her eyes are amber, mine are emeralds; a deep green, unusual for members of the Krehn family. 

As the earth Goddess, her body reflects her love of nature. Splotches of dirt and small cuts cover her from head to toe. On the other hand, my face is spotless except for a burn mark on my nose from a cooking incident a few years ago. Despite being a Goddess, she could blend into a crowd and live a normal life, but that is not a luxury I will ever have.

I pay my respects to the portrait and head outside into the courtyard. Compared to the main building, the courtyard looks like it belongs to an academy with the prestige accorded to Reimel. The second years make sure the grass stays ankle-length, the gardens are maintained, and the ground remains clean. Stars hang from the trees and line the fences around the gardens. Each week a second year is tasked with changing the decorations, and depending on the student, the quality varies.

The one nice thing about getting to lunch early is that I can claim one of the few benches. The courtyard was never meant to hold as many students as it does during lunchtime, so seating is limited. I don’t mind eating on the grass, but usually when I do, some of my classmates “accidentally” kick me as they walk by. 

My favorite bench is the one in the corner underneath the apple tree. Unfortunately, at this time of year the tree does not grow apples, but it provides the shade I desire. Although, it is probably for the best that there aren’t apples, since I wouldn’t be able to resist picking them, which is against academy rules. 

I sit down and dig through my bag to find my lunch. The box is smaller than I’d like but filled with my favorite things in the whole world: muffins. Just one bite is enough to make any bad day good, and after what happened in the classroom, I desperately need my daily muffin. The sense of familiarity and comfort washes over me as I close my eyes and bite into the pastry of the Goddesses. 

If anything says the Goddesses have blessed humanity, it would be the existence of muffins. They’re compact, which allows them to be easily stored and moved. They’re cheap, so almost anyone can afford them. They’re filling, nutritious, and most importantly, delicious. Truly, they are the perfect meal. Some people would disagree with me, and that’s fine. After all, I’ve been taught to respect peoples’ opinions, even if they’re wrong.

My eyes open to a sea of gray uniforms. The idle chatter of the students spreads throughout the courtyard and fills the air. For so many people to suddenly be there means I must have zoned out while eating. When I eat muffins, that tends to happen, which has made me late to class in the past. 

Afraid that I might be late again, I touch the white crystal fastened to my belt. A jolt runs through my mind as I connect to the aer within the crystal. “Winry, how long was I on cloud muffin? What time is it now?”

A slow, lofty voice resounds in my mind. “Pleeeeeeeease don’t ask me. It’s not myyyyyyyy job to watch the sun all day.”

I sigh. “Why do I even bother asking you?”

“That’s a goooooooooood question.”

Winry’s flighty personality and drawn-out way of talking can be annoying at times, but she’s like the little sister I never had. She was the first aer to respond to me when I spoke to my crystals, which may be why I usually go to her first when I need help.

Lifting my hand off the crystal, I disconnect my mind from the aer. Since there are still many students in the courtyard, it’s unlikely that I’ll be late if I leave now. I slink across the grass, careful not to disturb anyone’s lunch, and enter the building again.

A high-pitched cry echoes through the halls. Instinctively, my body moves to find the source of the sound. The cries grow louder as I close in on a slightly ajar door with a broken doorknob. I peer in at a blonde girl on her hands and knees, surrounded by shattered pots, dirt, and dead flowers.

The door scrapes across the floor as I push my way in to try to help her.

She turns around at the sound and stares at me with a panicked face. “That hair. You’re that weird, clueless, first-year.” 

“Weird, clueless?”

She crawls over to me and grasps at my skirt. “Please, help me. I accidentally fell while carrying the flowers.”

“But—” I try to take a step back. “—fixing the pots should be easy enough.” Judging by the red rings around her uniform’s collar and cuffs, she’s a third year. “Especially for someone with your experience.”

Putting things back together with earth aer is a simple but long and tedious process that requires asking the aer to put each piece back together one at a time. It’s among the first things an aether learns, and a skilled enough aether could probably do it in their sleep.

“I don’t have the time,” the girl wails. “If I’m late again, I’ll be expelled. But I can’t leave the pots broken or I’ll get in trouble for that.”

“So, you’re asking me to be late in your place.”

She averts her gaze and remains silent, but that tells me all I need to know.

From experience, the meister of my next class will let me off with a warning for my tardiness, simply because of who my father is. However, I dislike abusing my position, especially since it further alienates me from my classmates. But this girl is counting on me, and I can’t in good conscience walk away knowing that she’ll be expelled if I do. 

“Alright,” I say quickly, shaking her off me.

She climbs to her feet and flashes a smile. “You’re not so bad for a noble.” Before I can react, she rushes out the door and says, “Thanks again.”

“For a noble.” It would be nice if people could see me as Aliyah, and not as a noble, since it’s not like I’m much of one anyway.

I take a deep breath and reach down to my belt for the brown crystal. My mind jolts and I connect to the aer within. “Eren, are you awake? I have a job for you.”

“This had better be good,” a grainy voice says in my head. After a pause, she continues. “Aliyah, why? You really woke me up from my second afternoon nap to fix a pot?”

I begin to gather the broken shards into piles. “Nope, I woke you up to fix four pots.”

“That makes it worse.”

“Come on, help me out here. If you do, I’ll make it up to you later by…” My thoughts trail off as I stroke my chin for ideas. “I’ll sleep with your crystal on my pillow tonight.”

“Deal,” she says instantly.

Eren is, to put it kindly, as dumb as a rock. Well, that may be going a bit far. Rocks aren’t that dumb. The only thing that seems to interest her is sleep, and how much of it she can get. As far as I know, she’s the only one of my aer that sleeps at all, and she likes to complain when I wake her up from any of her naps. Despite that, she’s very reliable and will always help me when I need her, although bribery is required at times.

With Eren’s help, the base of the first pot begins to come together. Whatever that girl did to break the pots, she did a very good job of shattering them. At this rate, class will be halfway over by the time I finish. 

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the princess of Reimel Academy,” a deep voice says from the doorway. Thin blue eyes gaze at me from behind an even thinner pair of glasses. As the boy steps into the room, he slicks back his dark hair. “Once again, you’ve been—” A single long strand of hair breaks free, falling over his left eye. He puts it back up with the rest of his hair, only for it to spring free once again. A vein bulges on his large forehead. “Oh, for the love of…” He pulls a crescent-shaped hairpin from his pocket and pins the rebellious strand up once and for all. “Ahem,” he says with a cough. “Now, as I was saying. It seems you’ve once again been dragged into cleaning up someone else’s mess. You really ought to stop doing that. If you ask me, you should simply walk away and leave that fool to reap the consequences of their actions.”

Turning my attention back to the pots, I shake my head. “Well… I didn’t ask you, Joshua. And, please, stop calling me princess. If you’re going to use some weird nickname, at least pick something that fits me.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Joshua kneels in front of me with a smile. “With your looks I’d say ‘princess’ suits you very well.”

I avert my gaze. “Please stop teasing me.”

He reaches down to his belt and touches a brown crystal. After a second, broken shards begin to merge back together in front of him.

His actions cause me to stop my repairs. “What are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m putting these flowerpots back together.”

“There’s no point. I’ll be late even if you help me, so just go.”

He glances at me. “It’s a good thing I don’t care about getting there on time. Besides, it’ll be easier to explain if we’re together.”

My mouth hangs open for a moment before I shake my head and continue fixing the pot in front of me. “Thank you, Joshua. Truly.”

His cheeks glow red, and he turns away. “Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not doing this to help you. I simply want an excuse to skip class.”

If there were one word to describe Joshua, it would be ‘strange’. I never know what he’s thinking, and his actions contradict what he says often. He gets on my nerves a lot, but he’s the closest thing I have to a friend at this academy. And, despite always calling me princess, he at least seems to treat me as Aliyah, and not as a noble. 

I snicker. “Should the highest scoring first year really be talking like that? No wonder this place is going downhill.”

“Hey.” He points at me, a newly reformed part of the pot floating in front of his fingertip.“You can’t say I’m the highest scoring until I beat you.”

“Did you forget already? You got the highest scores on the last assessments, and I barely passed.”

A big grin creeps onto his face. “It’s only natural that I, the smartest person at this academy, would score highest when it comes to knowledge, but—” His grin vanishes. “—I didn’t come to this academy to prove my intelligence. I came here to prove that I have the potential to become one of the greatest aethers, and until I beat you on that front, I will not be happy.”

I smile. “Lucky you. You won’t be unhappy for long then.”

He nearly frowns. “What are you saying? You’re my rival. You’re supposed to say something like, ‘You’ll never catch up to me!’”

“Sorry, but I was taught that lying is bad.”

“Jeez.” Joshua hangs his head. “Some rival you are…”

I understand why he considers me his rival, since I’m the only one in the class that’s even close to his level, but it’s a pointless rivalry. I started my studies a year ago, and Joshua has already caught up to me in a little more than a month. It makes sense. He has so much talent it’s almost scary, and like he said, he came here to become a great aether. 

Unlike me. 

I was sent here to get away from the Krehn manor. No matter how good my aetherial abilities become, my future will remain unchanged.

After all, I am this century’s sacrifice.